A stacked memory device is one example of a semiconductor device. In a stacked memory device, stacked electrode layers are formed in a stepped configuration for forming corresponding contact holes.
The stepped electrode layers can be formed, for example, by a combination of a resist slimming (trim) technique along with an etching technique. However, simply combining these techniques disadvantageously causes the formation of an unnecessary stepped region, and this unnecessary stepped region, in turn, disadvantageously increases a memory chip area.